Air Ambulance Now in Yakima Permanently

Airlift Northwest is now permanently based at the Yakima Airport. Regional Manager and Flight Nurse Julie Hoffman says since 2011 Airlift Northwest has been flying a plane into Yakima on a daily basis. But that is no longer the case. Now the plane is based in at the airport ready to fly into action to save lives. Hoffman says the Turbo Commander flies with teams of two nurses certified to care for the sickest and most severely injured and burned patients. “Two nurses and a pilot come over every day at about 11:30 a.m. and wait for calls from the airport base.” The flight nurses are highly trained and have backgrounds in both adult and pediatric/neonatal care with advanced certifications in intensive and emergency room nursing. Airlift Northwest’s base at the Yakima Airport now serves not only Yakima but Wenatchee, Sunnyside, Toppenish, Ellensburg, Omak, Moses Lake, the Tri-Cities and other Central Washington communities. A special training exercise will be held at the Yakima Airport this afternoon.